


I Can't Love You... Yet

by UniversalGrace



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Eventual Sex, F/M, Fluff, Therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversalGrace/pseuds/UniversalGrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. Cassandra Quigley is an addict who psycho-analyzes practicing addicts. She ends the day with a nice bowl of skittles, and starts it with cold air and a customized playlist. Her life is standardized, and she enjoys it. </p><p>Until a new client with a jewfro as nice as hers comes in and drives a wedge into her life, both in and out of the office.</p><p>(Very long drumroll... like a month long for the characters. Just a warning.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Patient

Cassandra sat in the driver’s seat of her car, windows open, taking in the crisp morning air. It was icy and filled her lungs. Like anti-weed. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t dulling. It wasn’t dangerous. It was cold. It was awakening. It was safe. 

This was her morning ritual. Breathing in the cool air, and listening to her playlist of Flight of the Concords, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and Elvis Presley. It was an unusual practice, but it got her ready for her day.

She took a final deep breath, turned off her iPod, slipped on her short heels, and left her car, closing the window and locking the door. She adjusted her suit jacket and walked up the stairs to her office. She entered and, as usual, Katia, her assistant, was already at the reception desk. 

“Morning, Cass,” she said, smiling. 

“Morning, Katia,” Cass replied. She pulled her mug out of her purse. “Who am I handling today?” She walked over to the hot water heater in the lobby. It was meant for clients, but she used it at least once a day. She didn’t like tea, but the hot water was calming enough, so she filled her mug. 

Katia scooted over to the file cabinet, sifting through the papers. “Well, you have your usual tuesday suspects. And a new client.”

Cass sipped her water and walked over to the counter, looking at the files Katia had pulled out for her. Richard Morris Jorgenson, Jeremiah Kennedy Nix, Leigh Daniel Avidan. “Leigh?”

“Yeah. I think he has a Youtube channel-”

Cass through her hands up to her ears and started walking to her office. “AH AH AH! No spoilers! I start with the name. They tell me the rest.”

“But there’s a picture!”

“I can’t hear you!” She sang. She closed her office door and put her bag under her desk, which was to the right of the door. At the far wall was a nice lazy boy recliner chair, and on the left wall across from that was the long couch. It was fit for someone to lay on, but none of her clients ever followed through with the therapeutic stereotype. She had a series of motivational posters on her wall. They were more for humor than motivation. She sat in her desk chair, and looked at her watch. She had ten minutes. She spun for a minute or two before standing with her mug and walking to the large window stretching the wall next to her chair. She cranked the window open, sat in the recliner, and enjoyed the last few breaths of her natural drug. Then her phone buzzed. Richard time. 

* * *

Cassandra loved her clients, she really did. She wanted the best for them. She didn’t usually get suicide cases, but the majority of her clients had been on drugs for a long time. Richard was a short man with piercing eyes, and was trying to quit in order to save his marriage. Weed.

Then came Jeremiah. He was just a kid - a college freshmen. Well, he had been. He dropped out last semester because his RA caught him dealing. Cocaine. Of course he tried out the product before he dished it out. 

Each guy had his own problems. Richard had his wife who was convinced he was cheating and smoking after work. Jeremiah’s mom kept grounding him because she was afraid he would deal again when he left the house. The men were having trouble staying clean when the people in their lives only ever doubted them. Cass was their believer. Cass believed they could do it. She’d give them a pep talk once a week, teach them how to tell their family how unhappy they were. This was her job. She listened to their problems and pumped them back up for another week. Being an addict, they were more willing to take her advice over someone’s who doesn’t know what it’s like.

Jeremiah had left an hour ago, practically skipping away. It was three, and Cass was waiting for her last client of the day. The new one. Leigh Daniel Avidan. She walked out into the lobby to refill her mug. Katia was quietly tapping on the computer. She was trying to write a book, and this receptionist job gave her plenty of time to work. 

Cass looked at her watch. It was ten past three. She looked to Katia. “The appointment’s at three, right?”

“Uh… it’s supposed to be.” She double checked his file. “Yeah, Tuesdays and Fridays at three.”

“Hm…” Cass looked at the clock. Three thirteen. “Call up his emergency contact. He’s supposed to a-”

The bell above the entry door rang. Cass and Katia looked to the door. A tall lanky man was being pushed inside. His hair was out of control and his feet were flipping against the floor, dying for friction. He was being pushed by a shorter, fuller man who had long hair and a dyed blonde streak. 

“Dan! Get inside!” He yelled. The man with the hair grunted. Cass put her mug down and walked over to the two men. They were both on the carpet now, but the door was still open. 

“Excuse me!” She shouted. The shorter man stopped pushing for a second and was taken a step back by Dan. 

“I. DON’T. NEED. THERAPY.” He grunted.

“Cass,” Katia called to me, phone on her ear. “Should I-”

“No, no, we got this,” Cass assured. Dan was still putting all of his effort into getting out, but the shorter man wouldn’t let him. She carefully and gently put her hand on Dan’s shoulder. His muscles jumped and he lost focus. His buddy knocked him to the ground. Dan cringed and held his tail bone. 

“Ooo, that smarts,” he moaned, wriggling on the floor. His friend came in and closed the door. He looked at Cass and stuck out his hand. 

“Hi, I’m Arin Hanson. You’re Dr. Quigley?”

Cass took his hand. “I am.”

He let go of her hand and Dan sat up disgruntled. 

“Sorry about him. He’s… uh… he doesn’t believe-”

“He thinks I’m a quack? That therapy’s for crazy people?”

Arin held his fingers a centimeter apart. “Just a bit.”

Cass looked down at Dan. His arms and head were on his knees. She squat down, carefully trying to balance on her heels. 

“Hi.” He didn’t say anything. “You’re Leigh Daniel Avidan, right?” Nothing. “Hey,” she whispered. “If you’re here for therapy, you’re doing a really good job of making therapy for crazy people.”

He lifted his head up and looked her in the eyes. His jaw was strong and stubbled, his nose was wide, and his eyes were a bit too far apart. They were a dark brown, so the pupil got a little lost in the iris. And he had a scar on his eyebrow. Very butch. 

“I’m not crazy,” he murmured. 

“I can tell. You just don’t want to be here, right?”

He stared her dead in the eye. 

“Well, the sooner we start, the sooner you can leave. But you can’t leave until four. You got forty minutes. Do you want to spend it all down here on the floor?”

He shook his head and stood up. Cass stood up with him. 

“All righty then. I have a couch in my office. Honestly, it’s a lot softer than the chairs we have out here. Wanna go sit down on it?”

He didn’t say anything again. Cass looked to Arin. “See you in forty minutes.” He nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. Cass grabbed her mug and started walking to her office. She stopped when she realized Dan wasn’t following her. “I guess you want to spend the whole time standing, right?”

He turned his head slightly. Then he sighed and trudged after her. She walked into her office and he followed. She closed the door behind him. 

“And here we are. Care to sit down?” She gestured to the client couch. Dan crossed his arms. 

“I’m not crazy. I’m not sitting on the crazy couch.”

“Well, if you won’t, then I will.” Cass kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch, legs folded under her. She sipped her hot water and looked at Dan over the rim of her mug. 

“You have half an hour. You don’t have to stand the whole time.” He flipped his hair indignantly and sat on Cassandra’s recliner. She put her mug on the window sill and folded her hands. “So, why does everyone think you belong here?”

He looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, your friend literally had to push you through the door. You clearly don’t want to be here. But he does. Why?”

He was quiet for a moment. “He… I- uh- fuck- wait, I mean-”

“It’s okay, you can swear. Therapy is all about talking and you can talk however you’d like.”

“Okay. Um… Jesus, can we not?”

“Not what?”

“Talk? About this?”

Cass shrugged. “Of course. We don’t have to talk about anything. It’s a good way to help time go by though. What would you like to talk about instead?”

“I don’t fucking know.” He uncrossed his arms and laid them on the chair’s armrests. “What’s your name?” She laughed. “What?”

“Nothing, you just don’t even know your therapists name.”

“You’re not my therapist.”

“Right, I’m just a therapist.” His eyebrows furrowed. She smiled at him mischievously. “My name is Cassandra Quixote Quigley.”

“Quixote?”

“You know Don Quixote?”

“The crazy spaniard guy.”

“He was an idealist in his story, and my dad wanted me to be one, too.”

“And are you?”

She smiled. “I know what is ideal, but I don’t think it’s achievable.” They sat in silence for a moment. Dan nervously shook his leg. 

“So, your hair.”

Dan looked to her. “What about my hair?”

“Jewfro or faux jewfro?”

He half-smiled, then made it go away again. Cass smiled. “Yeah.” Her smile got wider. “What?” She reached up to her bun. Her hair looked curly, but she kept it back at work. She pulled the pins out and took the scrunchy off, then ruffled her own jewfro. He looked taken aback when she ruffled it so it went all over the place. Then she pulled the locks out of her eyes so she could look at him. 

He whistled, “Damn.”

“Damn, yourself,” she said. “I’ve never seen a jewfro as formidable as mine. And yet here you are.”

He smiled. “Well, it’s no contest. Mine is clearly better.”

“Mm, no. I’m shorter so it’s bigger compared to my body. So… better.”

“No way, you can control yours.”

“So can you.”

“No, I can’t!”

“Oh, yeah?” She stood up, stretching the scrunchy. “Give me that fro.”

He pursed his lips and giggled. “Yeah, no.”

“You sure?”

“My fro would prefer to live without constraints.” 

Cass shrugged. “Whatever you say. You’re the bossman.” She tightened the scrunchy onto her wrist, then sat back down on the couch. “So, what do you do for a living?”

“Oh, isn’t that the question of the year.” He turned his eyes away. When he looked back at her, she was still intently listening. “I play in some bands and do some stuff on YouTube.”

“Anything I’d know?”

He smiled and nearly blushed. “Eheh, probably not.”

“Try me.”

He looked up at her through his long bangs. “I sing in Starbomb and Ninja Sex Party. And I do online let’s plays as one of the Game Grumps.” She kept nodding as if she understood. “Yeah, you don’t know any of those things do you?”

“Mmm no idea. But they sound interesting.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty wild. I never thought I’d be able to make a living on the Internet.”

“Yeah. And you don’t have student loans to worry about, right?”

“Oh, no. Absolutely not.”

“Lucky.” She drank from her mug, taking the last of the liquid. 

“What made a fantastic jewfro like yours decide to become a therapist?”

Cass laughed. “Well. I was in high school. And my friend was dealing. And he gave me drugs. It was just some weed. Nothing too hard core. But then he got caught, and he couldn’t sell. I was already addicted, so I needed an alternative. I made all kinds of cocktails. I stole my mom’s antidepressants, took cough syrup. When I got to college, I found another dealer. I tried cocaine, but it just wasn’t what I liked. Too strong. Not smokey enough.” Dan nodded as she spoke, waiting for her to continue. “I got a batch of weed, and my friend brought over some heroin. And I had a little too much. I woke up in the hospital three days later, and my family sent me to rehab.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I was supposed to be declaring my major, and I was in an Anon group instead. And that got me nowhere. They all just missed drugs. How much they loved them. How much they needed them. The group discussions just made me miss them more. I snuck out one night, and they caught me. They switched me to one on one therapy - like this. And… my therapist…” she cast her eyes out the window, smiling, brushing her bangs out of her face. “He was a miracle worker. He taught me how to leave it all behind.”

“Just like that?” Dan interjected. 

“Well, I was in therapy for two years or so. He helped me find alternatives to drugs, went into the reason why I got into drugs in the first place… it was a life changing experience. And I decided that I wanted to be that person for others. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Dr. Akyleeses. I figure this is the best way I can give back.” Cass returned her gaze to him. Dan was looking at her intensely. “I’m gonna be honest, Dan. I just want to help. That’s all I want to do. If you don’t want it, there’s nothing I can do. I don’t know why you’re here, but if you want to talk, my ears are open. That’s kind of their job.” 

He barely chuckled. Cass smiled and looked at the clock. 

“And there goes the session,” she said, standing up. 

“That’s it?” He asked, watching her slip on her high heels. 

“Pretty much. I assume I’ll be seeing you again?”

He ran his hands through his hair. “Twice a week for a month.”

“You must attend the required sessions, and then it’s up to you what you want to do. I’ll see you on Friday, right?” 

She walked in front of him, holding out her hand. He looked up and grabbed it. She pulled him up. 

“Not like I have a choice.”

“But Arin won’t drag you in next time, right?”

He blushed. “I think I can get here without the fanfare.” 

“Well, good.” 

She walked him to the door, opening it for him to exit first. They walked out into the lobby, and Arin was signing something for Katia. 

“Max will really appreciate this, thank you,” she said. 

“It’s my pleasure,” Arin said back. They both looked up when Cassandra and Dan entered the room. “Ready to go, crazy?” Dan steamed. Cassandra put her hand on his arm. 

“You’re fine. I’ll see you on Friday.”

“Yeah, yeah. Friday.” He walked over to Arin and the two men walked out of the building. Cass walked over to Katia’s desk, pulling her scrunchy off of her wrist. 

“You let the hair out,” Katia said. 

“Yeah, well, it recognized its own kind.”

* * *

Cassandra drove back to her apartment. She lived on the top floor - it allowed for the coolest air in the morning. She walked up the stairs and entered her room. It was small. Just a living space with a couch and television, a small kitchen with some nice dishware, and a bedroom with a king sized bed. She didn’t take up all of that space, in fact she liked sleeping in a curled up little ball. But it was what she moved out with, so that’s what she used. 

She kicked off her heels and pulled down her pantyhose. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a small glass of wine and a bowl of skittles. Nothing hit the spot like skittles. She curled up on the couch with her candy and drink, and turned on the television. There was some nonsense show about demon children on, but she wasn’t paying any real attention. She just thought about her new client. 

“Dan Avidan… hm.” 

There was something oddly attractive about him. He wasn’t her usual type. That being said she didn’t really have a type. She was more of a Captain America kind of girl. Big guys with short hair, great smiles, and that look great in patriotic spandex. But Dan. His hair was too long. His body was too lanky. And he certainly didn’t look like a white, red, and blue spandex fan. But there was still something that made him oddly appealing. 

She sipped her wine, turned off the television, and shoved a handful of skittle into her mouth. Dan was a client. She wasn’t allowed to be attracted to him. It wasn’t permitted, so it was out of the question. 

When Cassandra went to bed that night, she dreamed of a massive jewfro.


	2. Trouble Downstairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read this fic so far! I have a lot of stuff planned for this, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it :)

Wednesday and Thursday came and went as they usually did. She had decided to make Wednesday a walk in day back when she established her office. Sometimes people just needed to talk, and Cassandra was a good listener. She rarely got many walk ins. Sometimes her clients would come in for a mid week session, or if something had gone terribly wrong. 

But there were no visitors this wednesday, so she spent the day watching Vsauce on YouTube. It was always interesting and gave her neat little facts to savor. She was watching a video about color, and was looking in the upcoming video list. There was a video by a guy named Wheezywaiter, and a video from Vsauce3 about Sonic the Hedgehog. Cass laughed, remembering playing Sonic as a kid and hating it. She didn’t understand the lack of gravity. She clicked the video and watched. 

It had a lot of math in it. It was never her favorite subject. She went back to the video list, looking for a different one. Then she saw it. Game Grumps. 

It was an orange thumbnail with a Sonic title in the middle. Surrounding it were two heads, and she recognized them immediately. One head was most definitely Arin - the streak was a trademark. And the other was Dan, formidable jewfro and stubble included. She waved her mouse over it. Just one video couldn’t hurt. 

Then she stopped herself, running her hands over her tied back hair. “Nope. Nope. Nope. You can’t do this, that’s against the rules. Only what they tell you, not what you find. Drop it, girl.” She exited out of the screen, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. “He’s just a client.”

On Thursday, she listened to Javier and Lyla. They were the only group session she had. They met each other through their dealer. Their whole relationship was based off of drugs, but now they wanted to have kids, so they needed to quit. For good. They were driven, so she didn’t have to build them up as she had to with others. But they loved each other, and were bored, and struggled in the bedroom department when they were sober. She didn’t help them with that area, but she helped them to learn to communicate, not just “feel the flow.”

Finally, Friday came. It was five to three, and she was tapping her leg anxiously. She didn’t miss Dan. No, of course not. She was just… eager to help him. Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. So she waited anxiously for her phone to buzz, and when it did she calmly and collectively sped walk out of her office, paused before entering the hallway, and made her entrance. Dan was sitting on one of the couches next to Arin, waiting. He looked up, and hit Arin’s arm. 

“See ya, dude.”

He walked over to Cass and she smiled. “Ready?”

“Totally.” He didn’t sound overly excited, but at least he was on time and not slipping over the rug. They walked into her office and he sat on the couch. She walked to her chair. “You’re right, the couch is softer.”

“Right? Clients live in a lap of luxury.” She crossed her legs, and looked him head on.

“So, how are you?”

“Good… yeah, good, I guess.” He was leaning forward, tapping his leg and glancing between her and the window. 

“Are you nervous?”

He flushed. “No.”

“You look a little nervous.”

“I’m not.”

She leant forward. “Dan, this is a safe space, you can say anything you want and it’s safe. No one will judge you, and no one will know.”

He held her gaze before sighing and leaning his head down.

“I fucked up.”

“How?” She asked. He leaned back so his neck was exposed. 

“Two weeks ago… I was really stressed. I’ve been sober for nearly a decade, and I was never addicted. I did drugs for fun, never because I needed to.”

“Is it still for fun?”

“Well, uh… sort of.” He put his head back down and leaned back on the couch, playing with his fingernails. 

“I had a lot of stuff going on, so I went and bought some weed. But- uh- it was a bad batch. There was something else in it. Not just weed. I didn’t realize until after I smoked it. And it… did something to me.”

“What?”

“I dunno. I remember taking a hit, and then I woke up two days later in a dumpster with an empty bottle of scotch. In Napa.”

“Jeez, that’s-”

“I know. I climbed out of the dumpster and a few minutes later some cops came and arrested me.”

“Why?”

“Well, I was… shit this is embarrassing.”

“I won’t laugh, if it’s any consolation.”

“It really isn’t. I.. I was naked.”

She uncrossed her legs and her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” He shrugged, cringing. “Christ, Dan, what happened?”

He shook his hands. “I don’t know! Arin picked me up from the police station and they wanted us to pay a fine. I didn’t even remember what happened, so I wasn’t going to pay a fine. In exchange, they sent me here.”

“That’s why you’re here? You didn’t want to pay the money?”

“I shouldn’t have to! I don’t fucking remember what happened that night. It’s not my fault I was naked in a residential neighborhood.”

“Residential? Were there children?”

He blushed. “A couple.”

She rubbed her hands on her head. The mental image of Dan standing in broad daylight, entirely naked. “Christ.”

“So, you know why I’m here. Fix me. Pep talk me. Do what you do.”

She looked at him for a second. He looked at her expectantly. 

“Why were you stressed?”

He nearly chuckled. “That’s it? That’s the question?”

“Well, I can’t stop you from buying drugs. But I can try to stop you from wanting them in the first place. So why were you stressed?”

He folded his hands in his lap. “I’m releasing two albums for two different bands in the next month. I had just spent twenty-eight hours playing Twilight Princess.” Cass furrowed her brow. “We were doing a solid playthrough, so we played nonstop for one sitting.”

“You had a long day.”

He frowned and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. One long day.”

“What do you do for fun?”

He shrugged. “Play videogames with Arin-”

“For your show.”

“- write songs-”

“For your album.”

“- sing-”

“For your band.”

“Okay, what’s your point?” He asked pointedly. 

“Do you have any hobbies that don’t involve your livelihood?” She asked. Dan sat there for a second, and frowned. 

“I guess not.”

She nodded her head slowly. “I highly recommend you find a hobby.”

“Like what?”

She shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you.” 

“I’m already doing everything I love though.”

“But it’s not relaxing. It’s all about being relaxed. What did you like to do in college?”

“Uh… drugs.”

“Any art?”

“Just music.”

“Any games?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I play videogames. I mean, that’s what our channel does on youtube.”

“So you record yourselves? Do you ever just… play?”

He furrowed his brow. “No. No, I don’t. It’s either preparation or recorded.”

“Then do that. Play some videogames without being a showman.”

He chuckled, nervously this time. “I haven’t done that in years.”

“Then you should start. Play some games and relax.”

Dan nodded and lifted his legs up so he was laying on the couch. “So that’s it? Play some games? Relax?”

“Yeah. Just play your favorite game instead of thinking about drugs.”

He groaned, “It was one time! One time in like ten years! I don’t have a drug problem! It was a bad batch, it went south, now I’m good. I’m done. It’s not an escape!”

“Then what is it?”

He whipped his eyes toward her. She sat unmoving, holding his gaze. “I’m finding it really hard to like you right now.”

Cass breathed in sharply, his words going right to her heart. She stiffened and look down at her folded hands. His words hurt more than they should have. “I’m sorry, I should choose my words more carefully.” She looked out the window. It had started to rain. The smell of a rainy day was almost as good as the morning air. “Do you mind if I open the window?”

“Go for it, bro.”

Bro. Awesome. She stood and cranked the window open, breathing in deeply. In and out. In and out. 

“What are you doing?” She looked to him. He was looking at her in confusion. 

“Relaxing.” She turned back to the window, taking in another wiff. 

“That’s your videogame? Your relaxer, little miss Drug expert?”

Dan’s attractiveness was going down drastically during this session. “You know, I apologized for being rude to you. I didn’t mean what I said the way I said it. You, on the other hand, are being very rude on purpose.” It was her turn to whip her head. She stood tall and approached him on the couch. He swung his legs around. 

“Hey, you told me this was a safe room. I’m allowed to say how I’m feeling.”

“You’re not allowed to call me names.”

“Drug expert? I’m sorry is that offensive?”

“Considering I take what I do seriously, yes. Yes, it is.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to be offensive.”

“Then what did you mean to be?” He opened and closed his mouth for a moment, gaping like a fish. Cassandra sat back down in her recliner. “Now-”

“You did that thing again,” he interrupted. She cocked her head. 

“What thing?”

“Asking me what I mean. It’s so frustrating. I mean what I mean and nothing more. It’s not an escape. All I know is that it’s not an escape. I didn’t mean to be offensive. I meant to be anything but.”

“You know, sometimes people perceive you differently than how you mean. And that’s when you need to be able to explain yourself. If you don’t explain yourself, people will misunderstand you.”

He sighed. “You know, I’m a really likeable person. People like me. I have a huge fanbase and a big group of friends.” 

“Are any of them from outside of work?”

“What?”

“Fans from your show and bands, friends that you work with. Any others?”

He once again gaped his mouth. “I can make friends.”

“Then do. They can add to your relaxing hobby.”

“Friends shouldn’t be a hobby. A person shouldn’t be a hobby.”

“I’m not saying they should, I’m saying you should find someone to relax with.”

“Fine, I’ll put that on the top of my list of things to do.” He put his legs back on the couch. Cass exhaled strongly, and looked to the clock. 

“Well, we’re done for the day.” She stood up. 

“Really? It can’t be over yet.” He swung his legs back off of the couch. 

“Oh no? I thought you’d be glad to leave.” She waltzed to the door and held the handle. 

“Well… um… I guess, yeah.” He stood up and they walked out into the hall. Arin was sitting in one of the chairs, tapping on his phone. He looked up when Dan entered. 

“Ready?”

“Yeah.” He took a step forward, then turned back to Cass. “See you on tuesday.”

“Tuesday,” she said back. He and Arin walked out. She turned to Katia. “Is there any other therapist they can send Dan to?”

“Uh… sure. I can check.” She started tapping on the computer. “Are you not getting along?”

“I just think he’d do better with a different therapist. That’s all.” Cassandra turned to her office. 

“Is something wrong?” Katia called out to her, but Cass closed the door before Katia even finished. 

* * *

Cass was in her room. It was the weekend, so she didn’t work. Instead of wearing her nice skirt and suit, she wore loose jeans and a nice sweatshirt, her hair out for the world to see. It was raining again, so her window was open, and she was sucking in the smell. That is until she heard the music. She walked over to the window and the music got louder. Someone was blasting some song. She couldn’t decipher the lyrics, but, frankly, she didn’t care. She shut her window.

And the sound didn’t go away. 

And the floor was shaking. 

The music wasn’t coming from the outside, it was coming from below her. She groaned and stomped her foot. The music went down for a moment, then she heard a thump from below her. The bastard was knocking back. She stomped harder and the music went back up. 

“Dammit,” she murmured. She put on her hard soled slippers and went into the hall. She certainly wasn’t presentable, but she was pissed off. First her client was distractingly attractive, then he turned out to be an insensitive ass, and now her lower roommate decides to be an ass too. She thumped down the stairs to the lower floor. She went to the room directly below hers (found by number) and knocked. She could still hear the music blasting, so she knocked again, louder this time. She heard someone yell, and the music went down. 

The door was opened by a man with fluffly brown hair and a nice beard. He looked just as relaxed as she did. 

“Can I help you?” He asked. He sounded pleasant enough. 

“Hi, um… I’m from upstairs and I was wondering if you could turn your music down,” She asked. 

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. My roommate’s trying to relax, and he says music’s the way. I told him to turn it down, but he just wouldn’t listen.” He said that part louder, probably so that his roommate could hear. 

“I NEED TO FEEL THE WAY I FEEL!” His roommate shouted back. Cass’s heart stopped for a second. It couldn’t be. 

“Well, I left the oven on, so I should get back.” She turned to leave. “Thanks for keeping the music down.”

“No pro-”

Cass was already barrelling up the stairs, trying to run. She heard Dan speak from behind her, and she couldn’t help but stop in the stairway, listening to what they had to say. 

“Who was that?” He asked. 

“The girl from upstairs. You need to keep your volume down.”

“God. My therapist told me I need to relax, and blasting RUSH does that for me.” Cassandra gasped. 

“Yeah, well, maybe you should relax without disrupting our neighbor.”

“What? Was she a cranky old lady, or something?” 

“Nah, she was probably your age. And… she was cute.” Cass could hear the smile in the man’s voice. 

“You don’t say?” Dan said back. 

And that’s when Cassandra stopped appealing to her curiosity and ran back upstairs. She closed her room door behind her and jumped under her covers. Dan, her annoying client Dan, lived right under her. And he tried to take her advice. 

She knew sharing an apartment building with him was a bad thing. But she couldn’t help her heart from fluttering.


End file.
